Road Trip

I bought tickets for the Tampa Bay Beer Festival a month ago, never anticipating the escalating fuel prices; S.C., where I normally find cheap gas, cost me 3.89 a gallon. My first stop as always, when arriving in Orlando, was Hotdog Heaven. So. Good. I dropped Megan and Oliver at Darlenes, and got on I4, and slowly made my way to Tampa. Dinner was at an all you can eat sushi place; my third time having sushi in a week; I think Im good until I get back to Asheville.

Yesterday after dropping addison off at school. Jessica and I went to Magnanimous Brewing to share a flight; mostly for the novelty of having beer so early in the morning. They open at 7am. We then drove to Ybor City to walk around and pick up some locally roasted, and most delicious coffee, at the Arturo Fuente cigar shop. No, its not advertised as being sold there, but Jessica knows how to find the good stuff. Our next stop was the Columbia Restaurant. This is the original location, in business since 1905, and the first air conditioned restaurant in FL. Despite living in FL nearly 30 years, (and requesting to go), I had never been there, so Jessica treated me as a Mothers Day present. Everything there is beautiful; the architecture, decor, ambience, and the waitstaff, who all wear tuxes. Following our meal was a stop at the cuban bakery, La Segunda, for a cafe cubano and a three foot long, loaf of cuban bread. Unlike french bread which is sliced ontop with a knife, cuban breqd is baked with a palm leaf on top, to create the cut.
















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After a long day on my feet, a foot massage from Addison.